Trump’s litigation path seems to have reached a dead end.
According to the Associated Press, on December 1, local time, Trump’s loyal supporter, US Attorney General Barr, stated that no evidence of large-scale vote fraud was found. Just the day before, the two “key swing states” Wisconsin and Arizona also announced the final vote counting results, announcing that Biden had won in both states.
According to the “New York Times” report, after the election, the Trump campaign team actively raised funds from the public, hoping that Trump’s “fans” can take practical actions to support him in filing a lawsuit in multiple states. The Trump team will altogether within 4 weeks Raised USD 170 million.
As far as the current situation is concerned, the 170 million US dollars can be described as “failed.” However, the facts are far more than that. Many people questioned that their donations were not used in litigation at all, but were embezzled for other purposes.
The litigation evidence was insufficient, the lawsuits in many states were withdrawn, and the public began to question the whereabouts of litigation funds. “Foreign Affairs” takes you to sort out where Trump’s lawsuit is heading?
Barr said no election fraud was found in the Trump team: you did not investigate at all
According to the Associated Press, on December 1, local time, U.S. Attorney General Barr stated that the Department of Justice has not found any evidence to show that there was a large-scale vote fraud that could change the election results during the 2020 presidential election.
Previously, on November 9, local time, Barr violated the Ministry of Justice’s 40-year tradition of not intervening in election investigations before the election results were approved, and authorized the Ministry of Justice to investigate “substantial allegations” of voting violations. Barr said in an interview that since this time, US prosecutors have cooperated with FBI agents to continue to follow up and deal with complaints of violations received. So far, no large-scale fraud that may affect the election results has been found.
Barr also pointed out that there are still talks accusing the 2020 presidential election of “systematic” fraud, that is, the machine is interfered with by a specific program, which affects the election results. The Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice also investigated this allegation, but found no evidence.
Trump himself did not directly comment on the findings of the Justice Department. But Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani and the campaign team issued a harsh statement saying that there was no sign that the Justice Department was investigating fraud evidence.
Giuliani said, “Evidence sufficient to prove illegal voting has been found in at least six states, and many witnesses have seen crimes related to election fraud. However, as far as we know, none of them has accepted the Department of Justice’s approval. Investigation and interrogation”. Giuliani also pointed out that the Ministry of Justice did not review any voting machines.
Subsequently, some Republicans also pointed the finger at the Justice Department. Florida Rep. Matt Gates said in an interview with Fox Business that in the presence of a large number of frauds, the Department of Justice has not been able to find any evidence, and they must be very embarrassed. Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin asked Barr to publish more details of the investigation. He believes that there are still many issues that need to be resolved in the election.
In response to the dispute, Barr responded that the Ministry of Justice is not the most suitable institution to resolve election disputes. The Ministry of Justice is mainly responsible for investigating crimes, and it is the responsibility of state and local officials to audit voting results. “More and more people agree that the criminal justice system is a universal way to solve problems. As long as people are dissatisfied with certain things, they hope that the Ministry of Justice can intervene in the investigation.”
Conservative commentator Bill Kristol joked on Twitter, “Maybe Giuliani should sue Barr and the Department of Justice. Giuliani is Trump’s campaign lawyer, and Barr is a lawyer for the Trump administration. This case may be called’Trump vs Trump'”.
Barr and Trump drift away or become the next target of being fired
Barr has always been regarded as one of Trump’s most ardent supporters. On the eve of the general election, Barr repeatedly emphasized that during the COVID-19 pandemic, mailing votes is very prone to fraud. Therefore, Barr’s remarks that contradict the Trump team are particularly eye-catching.
According to the “Washington Post” report, Barr’s findings undoubtedly weakened Trump and his allies’ allegations of election fraud, and he may have become the highest-level official in the government who parted ways with the Trump team.
The Washington Post also pointed out that Trump’s relationship with Barr is deteriorating. People familiar with the matter said that Trump and Barr have only talked once before Thanksgiving in recent months. Trump was disappointed by Barr’s unwillingness to take radical measures to support his allegations of election fraud. In addition, Trump is also annoyed by Barr’s support of FBI Director Christopher Ray. Christopher Ray has repeatedly publicly opposed Trump’s claims about election security.
Earlier, CNN reported that Chris Krebs, the director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency under the US Department of Homeland Security, was relieved of his post.
Analysts believe that the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency once said that “this year’s general election is the safest election in history.” This public antagonism to Trump made Trump very dissatisfied. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer quipped, “I guess he (Barr) will be the next person to be fired.”
On November 30, local time, an official who had spoken to Trump stated in an interview with the Washington Post that Trump was recently attacking several Republican governors, especially the governors of Georgia and Arizona.
He did not support Trump’s claims about election fraud and proceeded to verify the election results. The official said that as far as Trump’s current situation is concerned, at least until the Electoral College vote on December 14, Trump will not abandon Barr’s ally.
Election lawsuits frustrated in many states, Trump’s allegations continue
No evidence of election fraud was found, and the Trump campaign’s legal proceedings in many states were also hit hard. On November 29, local time, Trump gave his first television interview after the election. Trump told Fox News, “For now, it is difficult to bring the lawsuit to the Supreme Court.”
According to the National Broadcasting Corporation (NBC), so far, the Trump campaign and other Republicans have filed more than 40 lawsuits across the United States. Among them, at least 27 cases have been denied, dismissed and withdrawn. Even so, the Trump team did not give up the “enthusiasm” for litigation.
On November 30, local time, the two “key swing states” Wisconsin and Arizona announced the final vote count, confirming the victory of the Democratic presidential candidate Biden. So far, all the “key swing states” in which Trump initiated the lawsuit have completed the certification process for the election results.
On the same day, Giuliani held a press conference in Arizona and insisted that the voting was illegal. On December 1, local time, the Trump campaign filed another lawsuit in Wisconsin to try to overturn Biden’s victory. The lawsuit required the Wisconsin Supreme Court to withdraw and revoke the election certificate submitted by Governor Tony Evers. It also asked the court to order Evers and the state’s election commission to exclude a large number of absentee ballots because the Trump campaign deemed these ballots “illegal.”
In addition to the above two states, the Trump team also filed multiple lawsuits in Pennsylvania. However, Pennsylvania confirmed the election results on November 24, local time. According to NBC reports, on November 28 local time, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court once again dismissed an election fraud lawsuit. So far, according to NBC statistics, 9 out of 16 lawsuits filed by the Trump team in Pennsylvania have been dismissed, dismissed, and denied, and the remaining 7 cases are still under trial.
Even if the lawsuit was frustrated, Trump still accused election fraud on Twitter. He always insisted that he won the victory in Michigan, and also said that Biden’s victory in Arizona was “impossible” and the Nevada election results were “fake”.
Raised $170 million in 4 weeks, Trump team accused of “fraud”
There has been no obvious progress in legal proceedings, and Trump’s “backyard” has also arisen.
According to the “Washington Post” report, since election day, the Trump campaign has been sending e-mails and text messages to voters to continue to raise funds for recounts and election litigation. An email purporting to be from Trump wrote, “I need you more than ever.” The New York Times pointed out that in the four weeks since the election, the Trump campaign has raised $170 million.
The use of funds has aroused widespread public doubt. According to a report by the US political news website Politico, fundraising information disclosed that donors must donate more than $8,333 before the funds can enter the recount account.
Reuters pointed out that the “Save America” account will receive $5,000 and the Republican National Committee will receive $3,333 before the recount account gets $1.
The rules indicate that most of the funds will be used for other priorities. Most of the funds raised will be used to “Save America” (Political Action Committee led by Trump) and the Republican National Committee. According to the regulations of the Federal Election Commission, the two agencies have a lot of leeway in how to use the raised funds.
A Republican political strategist said that the Trump team is misleading supporters. When people think they are supporting Trump’s election litigation and donate money, there is actually almost no money for litigation. Politico pointed out that most of the money raised by the Trump team was used to repay campaign debts and supplement the funds of the Republican National Committee.
Paul Ryan, a campaign finance lawyer for the non-partisan “Common Cause” organization, criticized the Trump team’s fundraising behavior. “This has exceeded the bottom line. The Trump team may be trying to defraud supporters by delaying meaningless lawsuits. Funds to earn his living expenses in the next few years”.
On November 30, local time, Rob Flaherty, the digital director of the Biden campaign team, also tweeted that the Trump campaign’s fund-raising behavior was an “obvious fraud.”
